Grade the Packers' draft

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Green Bay — Every year there's a downtrodden team that finally turns the corner and sprints to playoff legitimacy.

It might not be a bad idea to make a trip to Las Vegas and put your money down on the Detroit Lions.

Three draft picks don't launch a team into the Super Bowl, but given the Lions finished the 2010 season with four straight victories and drafted a dominating defensive lineman for the second year in a row, drafted a speed-burning receiver and drafted one of the highest-rated running backs, this is not a team to ignore.

That's not to say they don't have some holes to address in order to compete in the NFC North, particularly at linebacker and cornerback. But if you're going to give quarterback Matthew Stafford the help he needs and a guy to take heat off of budding star defensive tackle Ndamakong Suh, the Lions did it.

"The draft is not the finish line for us as far as our personnel department," general manager Martin Mayhew. "We have a lot of work to do (and) a lot of areas where we can definitely improve. We'll continue to work at those things."

The Lions were able to sit at their original spots and get Auburn defensive tackle Nick Fairley at No. 13 and Boise State wide receiver Titus Young at No. 44. Then they got bold and moved up from No. 75 to No. 57 and took Illinois running back Mikel Leshoure.

Suddenly, the Lions have a complement for Suh, receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Jahvid Best.

"Every one of these picks - they stand alone for their talent, but they weren't drafted just for their talent," said coach Jim Schwartz. "They were drafted for how they fit in with what we want to do and with a very specific role in mind for them - not with an eye toward need. That isn't something that we've been talking about.

"We talk about players that fit and players that can make plays for us."

The challenge for the Lions is making up for the third-, fourth- and sixth-round picks they had to deal to Seattle for Leshoure. The go into Saturday with a fifth and a seventh.

Here's a rundown on what Green Bay's other division foes did:

Chicago Bears: On Thursday, the Bears were on the defensive against charges they nearly cost the Baltimore Ravens the player they had targeted in the first round.

The two teams agreed on a trade for Chicago to move up three spots to take Wisconsin lineman Gabe Carimi, but the Bears did not confirm it with the league. Time expired on the Ravens' pick and they were leap-frogged by the Kansas City Chiefs.

As it turned out, the Ravens got who they wanted and the Bears got who they wanted, but Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome was still angry and wanted the Bears to compensate him for their near mistake. Bears general manager Jerry Angelo apologized for the mistake but said no to giving up a draft choice.

"The only thing I'm going to say is they have rules when you do something wrong, not when people make mistakes," Angelo said. "A mistake was made, no rule was broken. OK, let's just make that clear here. And as I've said last night I think we made the proper amends from our part and certainly there was no intent other than to do the best we could and it just didn't work out."

The Bears addressed a big need on the offensive line with Carimi, although they're not sure if they'll play him at tackle or guard.

"We're really pleased," offensive line coach Mike Tice said. "I don't know what else to say besides the fact that we got a very good football player with a great track record."

The Bears moved up nine spots in the second round to take Oregon State defensive tackle Stephen Paea, who had the best bench press score of anyone at the scouting combine. In the third, they remained at No. 93 and took California safety Chris Conte to firm up a weakness in the middle of the defense.

"This was a tough draft and that is why we wanted to focus on the quality of the player that we got and the fit and whatever we had to do for a player that we thought was a good fit and obviously we thought was a need," Angelo said. "We thought we were going to do within reason what we needed to do and I felt like we did that today."

Minnesota Vikings: It's never a good thing when your team physician plays a key role in the draft.

But with the Vikings, he did.

First, they took Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder in a surprising move at No. 12, then they added Notre Dame tight end Kyle Rudolph in the second round. Both are good players on paper, but they come as damaged goods.

Ponder fought through shoulder and knee injuries last year and didn't have a very good senior season. But the Vikings felt they had to make a move for a quarterback to replace Brett Favre.

"The thing that we went back and forth on, was this: 'When are you going to get another chance to swing?' " vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman said. "If we didn't get a quarterback this year that we liked, then maybe we're looking at a quarterback next year. Who knows what the quarterback class is next year? And I know we're sure as heck not planning on picking at No. 12."

Rudolph comes with his own set of injuries.

He missed portions of the last two season with shoulder and hamstring injuries. The Vikings already have a quality tight end in Visanthe Shiancoe, but they liked the size and catching ability of Rudolph.

The Vikings' third-round pick was dealt to New England last year for Randy Moss. Whom did the Patriots take? Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett.

Ponder and Mallett will be linked together in Minnesota lore, that's for sure.

About Tom Silverstein

Tom Silverstein has covered the Green Bay Packers since 1989. He is a two-time Wisconsin Sportswriter of the Year award winner.